Towards an Automated Methodology for Optically Cured, High Thickness Composite Polymer Pastes: An Iso-based Approach for Large Area Additive Manufacturing

Optically cured polymer composites can offer numerous advantages over thermally- processed composites. This is especially applicable with large beads generated using Large Area Additive Manufacturing (LAAM) extrusion. This paper proposes a low-cost, semi- automated, off-the-shelf desktop system to quickly and precisely cure 8 mm thick, glass-filled (di-)methacrylate composite specimens for three-point flexural testing. In the absence of a clear preparation method for specimens of this thickness, we integrate aspects of two existing ISO Standards: ISO 178:2019, and ISO 4049:2019, to provide a rapid and reliable basis for specimen preparation and flexure testing. We propose two distinct curing strategies and compare these in terms of the flexural performance of prepared specimens, and the total cure time. Flexural data is critical to understanding the structural performance of light-activated composite pastes; and the curing methodology can be applied to potential future technologies which involve high-speed in-situ curing, from direct part/feature repair to functional production.